Applying the Forest Service Trails Accessibility Guidelines

The first step in applying the Forest Service Trails Accessibility Guidelines
(FSTAG) is to know when and where compliance is required. Section 7.0
General and 7.1 Extent of Application state
that the FSTAG applies
to National Forest System trails within the boundaries of a National Forest
that meet ALL these criteria:

The trail is new or altered.

It is designed for hiker or pedestrian use.

It connects either directly to a trailhead or to a trail that is already
accessible.

The FSTAG doesn't apply to existing trails unless there is a change in the
original purpose, intent, or function for which the trail was designed—an
alteration, in other words. It doesn't apply to trails designed for ATV,
equestrian, or any other nonpedestrian use. The FSTAG uses the term "designed
for hiker/pedestrian use" in accordance with the Forest Service trail
planning and management rules and National Trail Management Classes, which
are also the Interagency Trail Data Standards. This information is available
at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/measures/TR.htm.

The FSTAG doesn't prescribe different "levels of accessibility" based
on trail class or any other grouping criteria. Following the same philosophy
as the draft document on outdoor recreation developed by a regulatory negotiations
committee of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(Access Board), the FSTAG recognizes that a trail is either accessible or it
is not. The FSTAG provides guidance for maximizing accessibility, while recognizing
and protecting the unique characteristics of the natural setting, level of
development, and purpose of each trail—through the use of conditions
for departure from the guidelines and the related exceptions to the technical
provisions, explained below.

As explained in the budget tip Is Cost An Excuse?,
cost is not a valid reason for failing to make a trail accessible. In all likelihood,
the FSTAG won't apply to most portions of existing primitive, long-distance
trails, although it may apply to segments that pass through developed areas.
The FSTAG recognizes that there is no real benefit in making a newly constructed
or altered trail in the backcountry accessible if the only way to get to it
is by using an existing trail that isn't accessible and probably can't be made
accessible. Application of the FSTAG will ensure that the full range of trail
opportunities continues to be provided, from primitive long-distance trails
to highly developed interpretive trails at popular scenic overlooks, providing
hiking opportunities for everyone (figure 102).

Figure 102—Hiking is for everyone.

Is It a Trail or an Outdoor Recreation
Access Route?

An Outdoor Recreation Access Route (ORAR) is a continuous, unobstructed path
designated for pedestrian use that connects pedestrian elements within a recreation
site such as a picnic area, camping area, or trailhead. In contrast, a trail
is defined by the 2002 Interagency Trail Standards as a linear route managed
for human-powered, stock, or off-highway vehicle forms of transportation or
for historic or heritage values. A trail is not an ORAR and
is not subject to the requirements for ORARs found
in section 2.0 of the FSORAG.
Accessible trails designed for pedestrian and hiker use have their own set
of requirements that are described below.

Understanding Trail Terminology

Although this guidebook tries to explain requirements in ordinary language,
some terms are important to understanding how the FSTAG is applied. The terms
aren't organized alphabetically, but are grouped so that it's easy to understand
the distinctions between similar terms.

Designed use is the intended use that controls the
geometric design of a trail and determines the level to which it should be
maintained. There is only one designed use per trail or trail segment. Although
the trail may be actively managed for more than one use, the designed use determines
the technical specifications for the trail. Often, the designed use is the
managed use that requires the highest level of development. For example, pack
and saddle stock require higher and wider clearances than do hikers, so a trail
managed for both foot travel and horse use probably would have a designed use
of "Pack and Saddle" rather than "Hiker/Pedestrian." More
information about trail design parameters for the different designed uses is
in USFS Trail Design Parameters, available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/measures/Inventory/trails%20files/National_Design_Parameters
_1_31_2005.doc.

Managed use includes the modes of travel that are
actively managed and appropriate for a specific trail or area. This use reflects
the management decision or intent to accommodate or encourage a specific type
of trail use. Each trail or trail segment may have more than one managed use.
For instance, a single trail may be managed for hiker and equestrian use in
the summer and for cross-country skiing in the winter.

A trailhead is a site designed and developed by
the Forest Service or other government agency, a trail association, trail maintaining
club, trail partner, or other cooperators to provide a staging area for a trail.

For purposes of the FSTAG, trailheads are not:

Junctions between trails where there is no other access

Intersections where a trail crosses a road, or where users have developed
an access point, but no improvements are provided by the Forest Service,
trail associations, trail maintaining clubs, trail partners, or other cooperators
beyond minimal markers or modifications for health and safety.

Trail classes broadly organize trails by desired
management characteristics and the level of development, based on forest plan
direction. Trail classes take into account user preferences, the setting, protection
of sensitive resources, and management activities. Trail classifications range
from Trail Class 1 trails, which appear little different from animal paths
and may disappear intermittently, to Trail Class 5 trails, which are usually
wide, paved paths associated with highly developed environments. The FSTAG
does not change Forest Service trail classes. More information about National
Trail Management Classes, which are also the Interagency Trail Data Standards,
is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/measures/Inventory/trails%20files/Trail_Class_Matrix_1_31_2005.doc.

Setting is the term used to describe the natural
surroundings of a trail. On public lands outside rural and urban settings,
the natural surroundings are usually the primary attraction for visitors. Improvements,
such as trails, should not adversely affect the setting. For example, the design
for a trail crossing a glacial boulder field must protect the geologic features.
Accessibility is incorporated to the extent possible without fundamentally
altering the natural environment. On the other hand, a trail designed for a
wide open, relatively level area should follow the requirements of the FSTAG
to the highest degree possible.

The following terms describe construction and maintenance work:

Construction is building a new trail or segment
of trail where there was no trail before.

An alteration is a change in the original purpose,
intent, or function for which the trail was designed.

Maintenance is the routine or periodic repair
of existing trails or trail segments to restore them to the standards or
conditions to which they were originally designed and built. Maintenance
does not change the original purpose, intent, or function for which the trail
was designed. Trail maintenance work isn't covered by the FSTAG. Maintenance
includes:

Removing debris and vegetation, such as fallen trees or broken branches
on the trail; clearing the trail of encroaching brush or grasses; and
removing rock slides.

Maintaining trail tread, such as filling ruts, reshaping a trail
bed, repairing a trail surface or washouts, installing riprap to retain
cut and fill slopes, and constructing retaining walls or cribbing to
support trail tread.

Performing erosion control and drainage work, such as replacing or
installing drainage dips or culverts, and realigning sections of trail
to prevent erosion or to avoid boggy areas.

Repairing or replacing deteriorated, damaged, or vandalized trail
or trailhead structures or parts of structures, including sections
of bridges, boardwalks, information kiosks, fencing and railings; painting;
and removing graffiti.

While the FSTAG doesn't apply to maintenance, Forest Service policy is to
improve accessibility wherever the opportunity arises. Resource managers are
encouraged to improve accessibility on trails through trail maintenance and
repair activities. Every time a trail is maintained, there is an opportunity
to improve access.

The term "reconstruction" is not used
in Federal accessibility guidelines or the FSTAG, even though the term is used
frequently by the trails community. For the purposes of the FSTAG, actions
are categorized as construction, alteration, or maintenance.

TERMINOLOGY TIP—What Do You Call a Reroute?

If trail work is grouped into only three categories—construction,
alteration, and maintenance—what category do things like rerouting,
reconstruction, and extensions of existing trails fall into? The key to answering
this question is to concentrate first on the definition of "alteration." Does
the new work change the original purpose, intent,
or function for which the trail was designed? In other words, will
the trail serve a new destination? Will trail use change from, say, horses
to hikers after you're done? Are you significantly changing the overall trail
grade, width, or surface, or adding bridges where the trail used to ford
streams or rivers? If the work doesn't fit the definition of alteration,
it's either construction (if there was no
trail there before) or maintenance.